Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela recently had surgery to remove a bone chip from his elbow. The surgery was performed in New York last Friday, but it turns out a positive COVID-19 diagnosis caused a slight delay.

Speaking to Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, Urshela revealed that he originally planed to fly back to New York from Colombia on October 29 to have the surgery, but a positive COVID test meant that he had to stay in Colombia to quarantine.

Urshela said he believes he contracted the virus via a friend, and that his girlfriend had also tested positive.

“I had a lot of symptoms,” Urshela said. “Fever, chills, headaches. My body felt tired. I lost my sense of smell and taste.”

The 29-year-old said his symptoms lasted for three days and he later tested negative.

The Yankees announced that Urshela’s elbow surgery has an expected recovery time of about three months, which means he’d likely miss the beginning of spring training in Tampa but could be fully healthy for the Yankees' home opener against Toronto on April 1.

Urshela added that he received a cortisone shot at the end of the season, which is why he didn’t think he’d need surgery when he left New York after the season. After a few weeks home in Colombia, though, his elbow started acting up on him.

“I was feeling good when the season ended,” Urshela explained. “[Later] I started feeling the bone chip, like I had something there.”

Urshela has slashed .310/.358/.523 with 27 home runs and 104 RBI over his first two seasons with the Yankees, and if he’s fully healthy, he’ll likely be the Yankees’ everyday third baseman once again in 2020.

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